100+ migrants attempt to swim from Morocco to Ceuta overnight
In one of the most chaotic incidents seen this summer, over 100 migrants, including children, attempted to swim to Ceuta, an autonomous Spanish enclave that borders Morocco, on the night of August 9th.
According to Hespress, the crossings were apparently ignited by multiple social media videos encouraging migrants to make the journey in mass groups. Civil Guard units and Moroccan security forces reportedly operated at full capacity to alleviate the issue but still struggled due to the dense fog.
The source claims Spanish maritime and special forces were also involved in the situation, coordinating with Moroccan authorities to recover swimmers. Despite this, many migrants were still able to slip past and reach the beaches of Ceuta or neighbouring areas.
Among the large wave of migrants were purportedly several groups of children, who were intercepted at Tarajal and handed over to the Red Cross. As Maghrebi reported, there has been a persistent issue with unaccompanied minors crossing into Morocco’s borders, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) counted 1,024 in their latest report and hundreds are being held in juvenile facilities across the country.
Morocco currently faces a deepening struggle with migrants illegally crossing their borders, in an attempt to get to Spain. Authorities stopped a record 75,184 individuals trying to cross into Europe in 2024.
There have been transnational security deals between Spain and Morocco to try and mitigate the dilemma, but it continues to be an alarming problem.
The crisis has also affected the people of Morocco, with many becoming unsettled by the governments disorganised migration policy. In the small southern city of Tiznit for example, up to 200 migrants per week are being dropped off with no housing or social support, leaving the already struggling region in an even more difficult situation.
Although the wave of migrants attempting to cross in Ceuta came as a shock, it only underscores an issue long present in Moroccan discourse, an issue that seems to be growing more problematic.
Hespress, Maghrebi.org
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